Humidifier



. March 15,1938. G. w. sKlLBECK HUMIDIFIER Filed July 18, 1936 Patented Mar.. 1.5, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE HUMIDIFIER.

Gerald W. Skilbeck, Kenosha, Wis. Application July 18, 1936,V Serial No. 91,300

'I'his invention relates to improvements in humidifiers and refers particularly to humidiflers to be used with steamheating or any other suitl able source of steam. 5 In humidiers of this type heretofore in use raw steam from the radiator passed directly into the atmosphere, or water was conducteddirectly from the radiator to an evaporator unit.- vWhile these past constructions did obtain a degree of humidiflcation, their capacity was limited and they had the further., serious objection of obnoxious odors present in the steam emitted from the radiator. Also, where the units were supplied with water, objectionable live deposits had to be contended with.

'With the above and other objections to past humidiiiers in mind, this invention has as an object to provide a smallV compact humidier capa,- ble of attachment to a steam radiator or other' discharged therefrom into the atmosphere is the result of a distillation process which removes all objectionable odors.

Another object of this invention is to provide a humidifier havingan exceptionally high evaporation with low pressures. Another object of this invention is to provide a humidier which is entirely automatic in its-operation and which is automatically supplied with water through the process of condensation from the radiator, and which is so designed as to become operative whenever the heat is on.

Another object of this invention is to provide a humidier with greater capacity than those heretofore in use, and at the same time to simplify the construction as to enable its manufacture at low cost.

Another lobject of this invention is to provide a humidier of the character described which is quiet in operation.

A further object of this invention is to provide a humidier which may be easily and quickly at tached to any conventional `steam radiator.

A still further object of this invention is to provide means for adjusting Athe output of the humidier.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides inthe novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly dened by the appended claims, it being understood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the hereindisclos'ed invention maybe 5 made as come within the scope of the claims.

source of steam, and so designed that the vapor Y In .the accompanying drawing, I have illustrated one complete example of the physical embodiment of my invention constructed according to the best mode I have so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:

' Figure 1 is a front View of a conventional steam heating radiator illustrating the application of this invention thereto; 1

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical section through the humidier per se;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken through Figure 1 on the plane of the line 3--3; and

Figure 4 is atop plan view of the humidifier illustrating particularly its outlet port and adjusting screw.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawing in which like numerals indicate like parts, the numeral 5 represents a conventional steam heating radiator which, as is customary, is composed of a plurality of vertical flanges joined at their upper and lower ends. At the top an inlet pipe 6 conducts the heating fluid into the radiator and at the bottom an outlet pipe 1 provides for the return of the condensate. At one end of the radiator the humidier of this invention, and indicated generally by the numeral 8, is mounted.

The humidifier proper comprises a vertical casing or receptacle consisting preferably of a cylindrical shell with its upper and lower ends closed by caps l and Il, respectively. The upper cap I0, which may be removable, has an outlet port I2 provided with a downwardly extending tube I3 to insure quietoperation. The lower cap II has an overiiow pipe I4 secured thereto and extending up into the receptacle or casing to a point substantially medially of its ends to determine the level of water contained within the i receptacle. The lower end of the overow pipe has a tube I attached thereto which leads to, and supports, an evaporator unit I6.

The evaporator unit I6 serves merely as an auxiliary humidier, being supplied only with the overflow of water from the humidifier receptacle. It consists of a plurality of sheets of bibulous material conned between screens and equipped with a trough I1 at the bottom thereof. An evaporator unit of this character is illustrated and described in detail in Patent No. 2,034,886,

issued to Gerald W. Skilbeck, March 24th, 1936.

. Entering the interior of the receptacle through its side wall is a duct I8 adapted to conduct` live steam from the radiator'fzto a pointbelow the level of the water 'contained within the receptacle to boil the water and also replenish the supply and maintain the level constant as determined by the location of the top of the overflow pipe. This duct I8 may be of any suitable construction, and in the present instance comprises an elbow I 9 having a threaded nipple 20 projected through a hole in the side wall where it is secured by a nut 2l. The threaded nipple is adapted for attachment to a tapped port 22 ln the end wall of the radiator whereby the duct is not only communicated with the interior of the radiator, but the entire unit is also physically supported from the radiator.

The other end of the elbow I9 has a T-tting 23 secured thereto, to the stem of which a vertical tube 24 is attached. The tube 24 extends down alongside the overflow pipe to a point adjacent the bottom of the receptacle and substantially below the top of the overflow pipe to locate the outlet for the live steam Well below the water level.

In the head of the T-fitting an adjusting screw 25 is threaded to provide means for limiting the free motion of a ball check valve 26 which serves to close the duct passage against the admission of air into the radiator. The outer end of the adjusting screw 25, which is slotted for the reception of a screw driver, projects through a hole 21 in the cap I for convenient adjustment.

In operation steam flows from the radiator through the duct I8 into the body of water contained within thereceptacle and causes the same to boil. As the water boils the vapor rising therefrom is emitted through the opening I2. To preclude water from splashing out through the opening I2 the entire receptacle except for the space occupied by the duct I8 and the overflow pipe, is filled with metal wool or some other suitable material. Obviously, the metal used for this purpose should be a nonferrous metal, preferably copper.

When the unit is first set in operation it is desirable to fill it with water. Thereafter it is kept properly filled by the condensation of the steam conducted into the Water from the radiator.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, that this invention provides an exceedingly simple but efli'cient humidz'er which by reason of its simplicity of design can manufactured at an exceptionally low cost, an also that by virtue of the fact that the steam from the heating radiator is not directly discharged into the atmosphere but is used merely to maintain the supply of water and to boil the same so that the actual vapo-r discharged into the atmosphere is that produced as a result of a distillation process, no objectionable odors are produced in the operation of the humidifier. v

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A humidifier for use with a steam radiator for discharging'odorless steam vapor directly into the atmosphere comprising: a receptacle closed except for a discharge opening yin its top; a continuously open overflow opening to the interior of the receptacle a short distance above the bottom thereof, the yshape and dimensions of the receptacle being such that its portion disposed below the mouth of the overflow forms a small reservoir for water; a steam inlet duct entering the receptacle and having its discharge end positioned beneath the mouth of the overflow to be` submersed in the water so that live steam flowing through said inlet duct is discharged directly into the water, said duct having an area soA as to admit a large volume of steam in proportion to the small amount of water contained Within the receptacle so that the live steam violently boils the water in the receptacle and causes odorless steam vapors from the boiling water to issue from the discharge opening in the top of the receptacle; a ball check valve in said steam inlet duct to be lifted ,olf its seat by steam pressure as long as it exceeds atmospheric pressure and adapted to close upon a decrease in steam pressure below atmospheric; and means adjustable from the exterior of the receptacle for limiting the extent said ball may be lifted from its seat so that the flow of steam through said inlet may be controlled.

2. A humidifier of the character described comprising: an upright receptacle adapted to hold a supply of water and having end walls closlng'its top and bottom, the top wall being provided with a discharge opening, said receptacle having a transverse dimension substantially less than its height; a constantly open overflow pipe leading from the receptacle with its mouth disposed ata height less than half the height of the receptacle to drain oi excess water and maintain a relatively small supply of water in the bottom of the receptacle; a steam inlet for discharging live steam into the receptacle below the water level to violently boil the water and cause steam vapors to issue from the discharge opening in the top wall of the receptacle; and a check valve in said steam inlet above the water level open as long as the steam pressure is in excess of atmospheric and arranged to close when such pressure drops below atmospheric.

3. A humidifier .of the character described comprising: a receptacle having a discharge opening Iin its top and having a constantly open overflow with its mouth on a level substantially no higher than half the height of the receptacle to drain of! water containedwithin the receptacle in excess of a predetermined small amount in the bottom thereof; a steam inlet open to discharge live steam into the receptacle below the water level to cause the water to boil violently and discharge steam vapor through vthe opening in the top of the receptacle; and a metallic packing substantially filling the interior of the receptacle to prevent the water vapor produced by the violent boiling of the water from splashing upwardly through the discharge opening.

4. A humidifier of the character described comprising: a receptacle having a discharge opening in its top and having a constantly open overflow with its mouth spaced from the bottom thereof to drain off water contained within the receptacle in lexcess of' a predetermined small' amount in the bottom thereof; a steam-inlet disposed above the water level and having its discharge terminating below the water level to inject steam directly into the water to cause the water to -boil violently and discharge steam vapor through the opening in the top of the receptacle; a. metallic packing substantially filling the interior of the receptacle to prevent the water vapor produced by the violent boiling of the water from splashing'upwardly through the discharge opening; and a silencing tube extending downwardy from the discharge opening into the interior of the-receptacle to silence the discharge of stam` vapor therefrom..

5. A humidifier of the character described comprising: an upright metal shell having a transverse dimension less than its length and having top and bottom walls. the top wall being ducting steam into said inlet of the hall check valve for passage down into the water as long as the steam pressure is in excess of atmospheric; and an unrestrietedly open overflow opening to the interior of the receptacle with its mouth located a short distance above the lower open end of said duct to drain ou water in excess of a predetermined small amount so that the volume of steam introduced into the Water is large in proportion to the amount of Water contained within the receptacle whereby violent boiling of the water results 'to insure the discharge of a large volume of steam vapor into the atmosphere through the discharge opening at the top of the receptacle.

6. A humidier of the character described comprising: an upright receptacle adapted to hold a supply o1 water, said receptacle having a. discharge leading from its upper portion and having a transverse dimension substantially less than its height; a constantly open overflow pipe leading from thelreceptacle with its mouth disposed at a height substantially no greater than.

half lthe height of the receptacle to drain oi excess water and maintain a. relatively small supply of water in the bottom of the receptacle; steam inlet means for discharging live steam into the receptacle below the water level to violently boil the water and cause steam,vapor toissue from the discharge; and a check valve open as long as the steam pressure is in excess of at- Inospheric arnA arranged to close said steam inlet means when said pressure drops below atmospheric.

7. A humidifier of the character described comprising: an upright receptacle adapted to hold a supply of water and having end walls closing its top and bottom, the top wall being provided vvith a discharge opening, said receptacle having a transversefdimension substantially less than its height; a constantly open overflow pipe leading from the receptacle with its mouth disposed at a height less than half the height oi the receptacle to drain oi excesswater and maintain a relatively small supply of water in the bottom of the receptacle; and a steam inlet for discharging live steam into the receptacle below the water level to violently boil the water and cause steam vapor to issue from the discharge opening in the top wall of the receptacle.

i GERALD W. SKILBECK.

CII. 

